2011 April 05 | Beneath My Heart

Welcome to my very first tool review!

I am going to share with you this fabulous little gadget that I got in the mail a couple of weeks ago from my friends at One Project Closer.

I met Fred, from One Project Closer, last summer when my Back Patio Makeover won…

(Click on button to see my project.)

Fred recently told me that they were working on standing up a new site focused on tool reviews call ToolBox One (www.toolboxone.com).

It is a fabulous site all about tools: reviews, news, accessories and discounts.

Be sure to check it out!

So Fred asked me if I would want to review the SKIL Octo Multi-Sander, and since I was in the middle of my staircase makeover, I said, “Yes, please!”

*Disclaimer: I received this product for free to review, but the opinions in this post are 100% mine.

I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help my God. :)

This amazing little machine has 8 detail attachments to accomplish almost any sanding project.

The Octo Sander contains all of the pieces that are seen in the picture below.

The first thing I fell in love with (and so did my hubby), was these “velcro-like” sanding sheets. They come in various grits for any sanding project.

And I also loved the dust filter…no mess!

The attachments go on quickly and easily.

My favorite attachment was the flex attachment. (I think that is what it is called.)

It’s bendable…

Which was perfect for sanding round surfaces like my banister…

Then there is this cool concave attachment that worked perfectly on my railing.

You know those tight spaces in between railings that are always hard to sand?

Not a problem for me now!

Look at this great attachment…

Even though I didn’t use the next attachment on the stairs, I wanted to show you this corner attachment…

I have not attached sandpaper to this attachment, I was just wanting to show you how tightly it fits in corners.

Then they have this attachment that fits in tight spaces.

(Picture from HERE.)

How much fun am I going to have with this little guy?!

I can think of a ton of projects to use it on!

BTW, this tool is mine. Not the hubsters. :)

I love having my very own tool.

If he’s real nice, I might let him borrow it. (wink)

If you would like to learn more about this sander, you can read about it HERE.

Here is what I like about this sander:

Light weight

Dust filter

8 attachments

Low noise

Carry-all bag

Velcro sanding sheets

The only improvement I would suggest for this sander…

Make one in PINK!

Thanks again to One Project Closer for allowing me the opportunity to review this product!

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I am so happy to introduce my guest to you today!!

You may have heard me talk about my friend, Richella, from Imparting Grace, on my blog before.

Richella is one of my dearest blog friends. I met her shortly after I started blogging, and we instantly connected. Her precious comments brought me great comfort and encouragement during my mom’s illness and death.

I was so blessed to finally meet Richella in person at Blissdom this past January. She roomed with my sister and I! It is such an amazing feeling when your online friends become your real life friends.

That is Richella in the beautiful teal blouse. Seeing this picture again brings a tear to my eye. I love my blog friends so much and miss them terribly!

(Love you, Chris, Myra, Richella, Sarah, and Rhoda!)

Richella can be summed up in these words: Genuine, Compassionate, and Loving.

And she’s also a lot of fun!

She’s probably going to kill me, but I have to post these pictures of us in the Photo Booth at Blissdom.

She’s my buddy!

Richella’s blog is a treasure to read. If you do not follow her blog, you should. She will bless your heart!

Here are a few of my favorite posts of Richella.

Her New Guest Bedroom:

This next post blew my mind! She used a styrofoam cooler to make this beautiful ottoman. I’m totally serious!! A styrofoam cooler!

I love that her blog contains so many great things…home decor, crafts, English lessons (which I desperately need!), thoughts from her heart, and a whole bunch of spiritual wisdom.

Richella is also a mom of all boys. Three precious red-headed boys to be exact! And one of my very favorite posts of hers is a poem she wrote called, “Thoughts from a Blogging Mother.” It’s a must read if you are a mom and a blogger.

As a side note, I would like to ask all of you to please pray for Richella and her family in the coming week. Her husband, Jack, is having major heart surgery on Tuesday, April 12th, and I know she would covet your prayers. You can read about her husband is a post she just recently wrote, “Hope Matters”.

If you have never met Richella here in blogland, you are in for a treat!

She is beautiful. Her home is beautiful. But most importantly, her heart is beautiful.

So without further ado, here is Richella….

I’m so excited to be here at Traci’s today. I’ve known Traci now for nearly two years–and that’s a long time in blog years! One of my dreams came true when I got to meet Traci and her sister Cyndi at BlissDom in January. In fact, I got to room with them. Please don’t hate me!

Today I’m really glad to share an easy project that I’ve just completed for my kitchen: a no-sew faux Roman shade. (Try saying that three times fast!) First, I’ll show you my old kitchen window treatment:

That’s also a faux Roman shade, and I’m proud to say that I made it by following the wonderful step-by-step instructions from Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick. If you’re interested in making Roman shades, I highly recommend Sarah’s method. It will give you the look of an authentic Roman shade, and her instructions are easy to follow.

I love my red shade, and I’m going to use it again in the autumn and winter. But I wanted something a little different for spring and summer.

I considered something light-colored, but this is a west-facing window, and I wanted a dark background color to provide good heat-blocking on summer afternoons. So I was tickled when I found this fabric:

This fabric looks cheerful and summery to me. As an added bonus, it’s an outdoor fabric, so it won’t fade. (Note: the fabric is from Not Just Linens in Durham, North Carolina, and it’s called “Dorothy Ebony.”)

I’ve been so busy lately that I didn’t have time even to follow Sarah’s easy tutorial, so I came up with a quick, easy way to make a pretty good copy of a Roman shade. Here are the steps I followed.

Decide on the measurements you need. For this method, you’ll need to end up with a shade that’s the width of the inside of your window. The length of the shade would ideally be the length of your window, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that long. Simply cut your fabric to the correct width plus an inch on either side and the twice the length you want to end up with. (This is a no-sew method, so you’ll need double the fabric length. If you want to sew a lining fabric to your shade fabric, you’ll just need a single length of fabric and a length of lining.)

Lay your fabric out on a large work surface. You’ve cut your fabric an extra inch wide on each side; now turn the fabric under 1 inch on each side and secure the flaps with fabric glue or with Stitch Witchery. (For my shade, I needed the full width of the fabric plus a little extra, so I simply used glue to secure ribbon to the selvages of my fabric.

Once you have your fabric to the desired width with the sides finished however you like, double the fabric over, right sides together. Glue (or Stitch Witch, or sew if you like) the two cut ends together to create a seam.

Turn the fabric right side out. Now you have a large rectangle of doubled fabric.

And now for the secret tool that makes this shade possible: the tension rod. These rods are adjustable to any length. Measure the inside of your window frame to find the length you need, and adjust the rod using the manufacturer’s directions. (Note: The insides of my window frames are not very deep, so I used an oval rod.)

Insert the rod into one end of your fabric rectangle, like so:

Hang your fabric rectangle in the top of your window frame:

See? My shade isn’t exactly the right length, but I’m only going to use it as a stationary treatment at the top of my window, so it doesn’t matter that it’s not quite long enough.

Take a second tension rod and hang it a few inches lower than your top rod (mine is about 7 inches lower than the top rod), like so:

Now bring your fabric up to double over the second rod.

Now repeat that process with a third tension rod. Here’s how the shade will look under the folds. (Those cup hooks are there from using Sarah’s method to make the red shade.)